One gets the sense from the Post article that at the time of the recordings, which date from 1996 or 1997, Ms. Pataki wasn't entirely pleased with her schedule of public appearances. She gripes, "I'm not getting paid for this crap. I don't have to do a damn thing if I don't want to." And she tells Doherty, "I told George, 'George, it's exactly this kind of thing that pisses me off.' " She sounds a tad bit vain when she says, "There were pictures of Donna Giuliani all over the papers. It's not that I'm not photogenic." And she says a word that isn't suitable for a wholesome family blog.
Ms. Pataki's naughty words do not, however, detract from the merits of her complaints. To this day, political wives are often treated like little more than props, to be trotted out to beam at their husbands, and kiss them and compliment them at the most opportune moments. People across the political spectrum seem unaware that the wives of famous politicians might be autonomous individuals, with their own careers and interests that extend beyond those of their husbands. Even liberal syndicated columnist Maureen Down joined a gaggle of commentators who thought it was more important for Howard Dean's wife Judith to be with her husband on the campaign trail last year than to attend to her responsibilities as a doctor.
So my advice to Ms. Pataki, if she's still finding political events tedious, is to take a stand and give them up. It's not like she doesn't have other career options. With a vocabulary like hers, she would make one heck of a sailor.
